Family organization and communication tool

ABSTRACT

A family organization and communication tool is preferably provided via a web site that enables interne access by both parents and their children. The tool provides features for the managing, scheduling and sharing of information among the parents and children of blended families. Specifically, the tool provides for an access schedule calendar to which can be posted specific events requiring the pick up and drop off responsibilities of a parent. Additionally, the tool provides a means for electronically requesting a swap or trade in days of responsibility for a child and the tool provides for an “ask and approve” expense log for the sharing of children&#39;s expenses among parents. The tool further provides for date and time stamping of access by the parents or children to each web page within the tool and for protected entries, entries that can only be edited or deleted by the original creator.

CLAIM TO PRIORITY

This patent application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/075,536, filed on Mar. 9, 2005, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/551,657, filed Mar. 9, 2004, the benefit of priority of each of which is claimed hereby, and each of which are incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to non-verbal electronic communication and, more specifically, to non-verbal electronic communications between non-cohabitating parents for the managing, scheduling and sharing of information about their children.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The concepts of divorced parents and blended families are commonplace today. As are hectic schedules for both children and their parents. Trying to coordinate such hectic schedules among blended families is often quite difficult. Each family has to attempt to make their plans while respecting the interests of former spouses and the needs of other blended households. The common result, however, is scheduling mishaps due to poor communication. The inability to communicate effectively among former spouses further often results in conflicts that create more stress for everyone involved, both parents and children.

In a world awash in communication technology with virtually everyone having Internet access, there is a need for a web site that enables communicating, scheduling and sharing information with a former spouse that would help remove the stress from all involved lives. The site should be designed for separate households and built with features to accommodate families that live apart. The site should enable managing, scheduling, and sharing information cooperatively and efficiently about shared children in a non-verbal manner.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The needs described above are in large part addressed by the family organization and communication tool and method of the present invention. The tool is preferably provided via a web site that enables interne access by both parents and their children. The tool provides features for the managing, scheduling and sharing of information among the parents and children of blended families. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the tool provides an access schedule calendar, whereby parents and children can determine which parent is responsible for a child on a certain day and/or certain event.

An event is presented on the calendar as an event box, wherein the event box provides the viewer of the calendar with an indication of not only the time and date of the event but for which child the event is occurring, which parent is responsible for the drop off of the child, which parent is responsible for the child during the event, and which parent is responsible for picking up the child from the event. In the preferred embodiment, each of these indications is provided through the use of color-coded sections of the event box, wherein each child and parent is assigned a unique color for quick ascertainment of responsibility.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the tool provides for the ability of a parent to electronically request the trade or swap of a day or days of responsibility for a child with the other parent. The requesting parent can establish a response date for response from the other parent, which will also act as an expiration if no response is required. A negative or non-response to a request maintains the current color-code status of the access schedule while a positive response to the request results in an automatic color-code update to the access schedule calendar to indicate who is the newly responsible parent

In still another preferred embodiment of the invention, the tool enables the user parents to enter and post incurred expenses for their children. The expense is designated with a type indicating whether the expense is to be split between parents, at a predetermined percentage, or whether the expense is to be born by one parent alone. Upon posting a shared expense, the posting parent can electronically ask for and track approval and payment of the expense by the other parent. The expense types are preferably customizable to each users needs and specific situations.

A feature preferably provided in all embodiments of the present invention is that of date and time stamping. Specifically, each accessed web page of the tool is provided with an indication, e.g., a footer at the bottom of the page, with the last date and time each user viewed the page, so that there can be no arguments as to whether an individual actually saw an access schedule, event, or expense log posting. Further, all embodiments of the present invention are preferably provided with protected entries, i.e., only the user who created an entry can edit or delete it, and all historical records are locked unless both parents consent to making the change.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides an overview flowchart of the family organization and communication tool of the present invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a typical internet system through which the tool of the present invention may be accessed.

FIG. 3 depicts an access schedule options page of the present invention.

FIG. 4 depicts a web page of the present invention for creating or editing the access schedule.

FIG. 5 depicts a web page of the present invention for establishing the holiday schedule portion of the access schedule.

FIG. 6 depicts a web page of the present invention for establishing or editing a calendar event.

FIG. 7 depicts the display format of a weekly access schedule calendar.

FIG. 8 depicts the display format of a monthly access schedule calendar.

FIG. 9 depicts an example event box from the access schedule calendar.

FIG. 10 depicts a web page of the present invention requesting a trade or swap of access schedule days between parents.

FIG. 11 depicts a journal calendar of the present invention.

FIG. 12 depicts a template for journal entry.

FIG. 13 depicts a message board provided by the tool of the present invention.

FIG. 14 depicts a “new message” template to create a message to post to the message board.

FIG. 15 depicts a “new activity” template of the present invention.

FIG. 16 depicts a template for entry of family vital information.

FIG. 17 depicts a “new financial record” template of the present invention.

FIG. 18 depicts a template for uploading a user's personal file to the tool of the present invention.

FIG. 19 depicts the expense log summary created by the tool of the present invention.

FIG. 20 depicts a template for entry of a “new expense” within the expense log.

FIG. 21 depicts the expense log setup for defining expense types and how they are to be split among parents.

FIG. 22 depicts a template for defining a new expense type.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A family organization and communication tool of the present invention provides a unique Internet tool and method for scheduling, organizing and sharing information among blended families. Among its features are an access schedule illustrating each child and the responsible parent for each day, activity and holiday. Further, is the ability to trade or swap days in parenting responsibility schedules. As well, a user of the tool can utilize its ask and approve expense log to share child expenses between the parents.

An overview flowchart of the family organization and communication tool (the tool) 10 of the present invention is provided in FIG. 1. As shown, from the Internet home page 100 of the tool 10, a user can access the following functions: (1) calendar 200; (2) messages 300; (3) information bank 400; (4) expense log 500; (5) my account; (6) e-coupons 700; (7) resources 800; and (8) logout 900. FIG. 2 depicts a typical Internet system 20 through which the tool may be accessed. As well known, the Internet system 20 links computers 22 via Internet service providers 24 to the world wide web 26, which is comprised of thousands of web sites whose operation/software is supported by servers (not shown).

I. Calendar Function

Referring once again to FIG. 1, the function of the calendar 200 can now be appreciated. A significant feature of the calendar function 200 is the function of the access schedule 210 (a schedule indicating which parent has the responsibility for a child), wherein a user may create a new access schedule 212, edit an existing access schedule 214, and/or define a holiday schedule 216. FIG. 3 depicts the page of the tool 10 that offers the access schedule options. FIG. 4 depicts the page of the tool 10 that enables the creation, or editing of an existing access schedule. As shown, a user is prompted to enter a start date 218 and an end date 220, typically a span of six months to a year, and is then prompted to enter the parent responsible for access/custody of the child on each day of the week. In the preferred embodiment this entry is simplified by offering color-coded boxes for each parent, i.e., the mother 222 and the father 224, with the option of selecting or de-selecting color-coded boxes. Those same color-coded boxes, 222 and 224, are additionally preferably provided in determining the holiday access schedule, which is enabled by the page of the tool shown in FIG. 5.

The holiday access schedule 216 web page depicted in FIG. 5, enables the user to select a year 226 in which to define their holidays. The page also enables the user to select which common holidays 228 are of concern through use of a check box 230 and to designate which parent will have access/responsibility for the child on that holiday. In this example, the mother has access/responsibility on New Year's, Valentine's, St. Patrick's and Mother's Day, per selected color-coded boxes 222, while the father has access/responsibility for the child on Memorial and Father's Day. The remainder of the holidays are defined as default, i.e., the access/responsibility for the child remains with the default parent. Additional holidays not provided within the common holiday list may be established and added by entering the holiday through the custom holiday option 234. A description 236, the number of days of the holiday 238 and the start date 240 of the holiday can be entered. Once added, the parent having access/responsibility for the child can be selected.

A further feature of the calendar 200 is the ability to establish single and/or recurring events 242 for each child. FIG. 6 depicts a page of the tool 10 that can be used to establish or edit a new event 242. As shown, the new calendar event page enables the entry of a description 243 of the event, as well as additional comments 244 and location information 245 on the event. The user can additionally define the timing of the event by noting a multiple day event per selection 246, entering the date of the event 247, noting an all day event per selection 248, as well as entering a start time 249 and an end time 250. The user can additionally define the event as a repeating event by selecting the define repeat pattern option 251 and selecting the repeat pattern, e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc., and at which time the repeat should end. The new calendar event is further defined by user information which includes the selection of which parent is responsible for the child during the event 252, which parent is to drop off the child 253, which parent is to pick up the child 254, and which child the event is for (see check box 255). The user can select whether to send an e-mail reminder about the event to the child and/or parent per selection box 256 and can select at which time before the event the reminder should be sent per selection box 257. At the user's option, they can further define the new calendar event by selecting an icon that represents the event, per selection box 258, and can enter any additional notes 259.

With the access schedule and various calendar events defined, the user can view the calendar in a weekly, monthly, or yearly format, an example of the monthly format is provided in FIG. 8. The calendar 260 is preferably color-coded wherein the background 261 color-fill for each day represents the access schedule, i.e., which parent has access/responsibility for the child or children on that day. Note that a legend is provided at the bottom of the calendar indicating which colors correspond to each parent and each child. Additionally, the calendar is marked with various calendar events. Each calendar event is indicated by an event box 262 provided on the day the event is to occur. A user may click on the event box 262 to obtain additional details about the event. A close-up view of an example event box 262 is provided in FIG. 9.

Each event box 262 is outlined, to the left, right and bottom, with bars. The bar to the left in the event box 262 is the “drop-off” bar 263, a bar that is color-coded to indicate which parent will be dropping off the child at the noted event. The bar to the right in the event box 262 is the “pick-up” bar 264, a bar that is color-coded to indicate which parent is responsible for picking up the child from the event. The bar to the bottom in the event box 262 the “child indicator” bar 265, a bar that is color-coded to indicate which child is participating in the event. The background 266 of the event box 262 is color-coded to indicate which parent is responsible for the child during the event. And, a data field 267 is provided within the event box 262 to provide a description of the event, with words and/or an icon, as well as the start and stop time of the event. It should be noted that while the use of color-coding and the use of bars are the preferred method of indicating the parents and children involved with the calendar, other methods of indicating the children/parents can be used without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

An additional function of the calendar function 200, is the trade/swap function 268, which is enabled through the web page of the tool 10 that is depicted in FIG. 10. This function enables a parent to request to trade a day, forfeit a day, or acquire a day. To switch days with the other parent, the user selects which parent they wish to have responsibility for the child per selection box 269. The user then selects the date for date range that you would like to switch by entering the date in the date box 270 and selecting “single” or “multiple” days, per selection box 271. The user may indicate the desire to trade for another day or not to trade, per selection box 272. Optionally, the user may also set a “respond by date” 273 and/or “reason” 274 to let the other parent know why the user is making the request. Upon submitting the change request, the other parent will see the change request upon the calendar, indicated by a question mark “?” over the event box 262, (see FIG. 8). The other parent will also receive a message through the message function of the tool 10, whereby the other parent can accept or reject the request. The message function is described further below. A log of the request and the response is preferably kept. Upon the acceptance of a request, the calendar is preferably updated by color-coding to indicate the other parent's new responsibility. A conflict in scheduled events is preferably indicated by an exclamation point “!” positioned over the event box.

Additional functions of the calendar function 200 of the tool 10 include the ability to journal 275 relative to the calendar. FIG. 11 depicts a journal calendar 276 that is distinct from the access schedule/event calendar described previously. The journal calendar 276 maintains only journal entries and indicates the presence of such a journal entry through a notation 277 on the calendar. The journal calendar 276 is preferably color-coded indicating who wrote the entry and who has access to the entry. Upon selecting a new journal entry 278, the user is presented with a journal entry page like that depicted in FIG. 12. Within the entry 278, the user is prompted to enter or select a date 279 for the entry and to create the desired entry 280. The user may also select to whom the entry will be visible to, per selection box 281 and whether the entry is to be made public, per selection box 282.

Further functions of the calendar function 200 of the tool 10 include accessory functions 283 such as display, print, and export. Both calendar 260 and the journal calendar 275 preferably provide the user not only with the ability to view a weekly, monthly, and yearly calendar format but also provide the ability to click on any entry within the calendar 260, 275 to have the details of the entry displayed on a separate page. Further, both the calendar 260 and the journal calendar 275 are provided with the option of selecting a “printable” option to create a printer-friendly format of the calendar. See FIG. 8, “printable” option 283 and FIG. 11, “printable” option 284, respectively. The calendar 260 is preferably provided with the additional option of exporting the events of the calendar 260 to Outlook or another compatible calendar, see FIG. 8 “export” option 285.

II. Message Function

The message function 300 presents the user with a message board 302 to which all messages sent to the user via the tool 10 are posted, see FIG. 13. The message board lists the messages providing indication of whom the message is from 304, the date the message was sent 306, the subject of the message 308, and the status type of the message 310. The status of the message is preferably indicated as “read” or “unread” while the type of the message is noted as one or more of the following: (1) message; (2) change request; (3) professional message; (4) system message; and (5) expense log message. The status and types of the messages are preferably listed in a legend 312 on the message board 302 for easy identification. Messages sent by the user are also preferably displayable on the message board 302, per function 314.

To create a new message 316, the user is preferably presented with a message template, such as that shown in FIG. 14, where the user is prompted to select from desired recipients 318, i.e., children or other parent, prompted to enter a message title 320 and the content 322 of the message. Upon completion of the message the user simply selects “send” 324 to deliver the message to the desired recipients. Similar to a standard e-mail system, the recipient of the message may respond 326 to the message if desired. All users are provided with the ability to delete messages 328.

III. Information Bank Function

The information bank function 400 of the tool 10 enables the parent users to store information about each member of the family. The information is already organized by the tool 10 into the following sections: (1) Activities 402; (2) Address Book 404; (3) Child Care Providers 406; (4) Family Vitals 408; (5) Financial Information 410; (6) School Information 412; (7) Religious Information 414; (8) My Files 416; and (9) Medical Information 418, see FIG. 1. Each section is provided with its own template or templates for entering the information.

For example, the activity 402 section of the information bank 400 enables the user to enter detailed information about an activity via the “new activity” template 420 presented in FIG. 15. A similarly configured template is provided for a “new address” and a “new child care provider.”

FIG. 16 is an example of the template 422 that is preferably used to enter/edit “family vitals” while FIG. 17 provides an example of the template 424 that is preferably used to enter a “financial record.” Similar templates are provided for a “new school,” “new religious information,” as well as medical information such as medical providers, insurance information, immunizations, emergency contacts, and health details. The user of the tool 10 is also provided with the option of uploading their own files for easy access and use within the tool 10, see FIG. 18 for an upload template 426.

IV. Expense Log Function

The expense log function 500 of the tool 10 allows the parent to enter expenses for their children, categorize the expense by type, and track the other parent's approval and payment. The expense types are customizable to facilitate each individual's needs. Upon entering the expense log function 500, the user is presented with an expense log summary 502 page, as shown in FIG. 19. All expense entries made by each parent are displayed, except those designated private. Specifically, the summary 502 includes the date 504 of the expense, a description of the expense 506, the type of expense 508, the amount of the expense 510, an indication of which child the expense is for 512, an indication of which parent posted the expense 514, the status of the expense 516, and whether the expense has been paid 520. A color-coded legend 522 is preferably provided at the bottom of the summary 502 to indicate the color block associate with each child and parent. A status legend 524 is also preferably provided at the bottom of the summary to indicate the various status' of expenses, including: (1) approved, indicating the expense has been approved by the other parent; (2) private, indicating the expense is not to be shown to the other parent; (3) refused, indicating the other parent refused to pay their portion of the expense; and (4) waiting, indicating the user is still waiting for a response from the other parent as to whether the expense is approved or not. In the preferred embodiment, the user is also provided with the option of selecting a specific expense from the summary to obtain a detailed view of the expense.

A user may create a new expense by selecting the “create expense” option 526 from the summary 502, upon which the user is presented with the “new expense” template 528 of FIG. 20. Through the template 528, the user may enter the date of the expense 530, the expense title 532, the type of expense 534, the amount of the expense 536, and which child the expense is for 538. The user may additionally upload a copy of the receipt if desired through use of the browse function 540. The user can indicate if the new expense is to be kept private or not, per selection 542. Upon creating the expense, it is posted to the expense log summary 502.

The expense log function 500 of the tool 10 enables the user to create different types of expenses. For example, see the setup page 543 of FIG. 21, wherein the expense types 544 of general, medical/dental, other, and personal have already been established. The description 546 of the expense type indicates how the expense is to be split while the actual percentages to be paid by each parent are listed under the parent's names 548. A new expense type is established through the template 560 of FIG. 22, wherein the user enters the type title 562, the description 564 and the percentage 566 that the user will pay. Through this expense type setup the user is able to customize the tool 10 to their specific needs.

V. My Account Function

The “my account” function 600 of the tool 10 provides the means to maintain the user's personal information including home and business addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc. It further enables the storage of the user's site preferences, such as the colors desired to represent each child and parent, as well as enable the user to establish and save their own “quick list,” a list of the most frequently used pages within the tool for quick and easy access to those pages. The “my account” function 600 also enables the user to add, edit, and delete child accounts and/or “view only” accounts.

VI. E-Coupon Function

The e-coupon function 700 of the tool 10 allows member users to have the benefit of access to e-coupons that the tool provider has worked to secure for their members. E-coupons are provided in such areas as books, communication, home improvement, photograph, travel, clothing, health, pets, and recreation among others. Members can simply select the coupon they desire and print it for their use.

VII. Resources Function

The resources function 800 of the tool 10 provides links to web sites and services for member users that are focused on families and children. It becomes very difficult to determine which sites are appropriate for the members of a user's family. The resource section supplies families with children, family oriented sites that the tool provider believes will educate, guide, and entertain the user members and their families. The links to resources are provided in such areas as family resources, interne safety tips, consumer safety tips, tools for families, links to filtering software, and reporting trouble online, among others.

VIII. Log Out Function

The log out function 900 of the tool enables the user to end their session with the tool 10. After logging out, all data about the current tool session is removed from the user's computer and from the tool provider's temporary database.

An additional feature that applies to all functions noted above is that of a date and time stamp. Every page within the tool 10 web site is marked in the footer with the last time each person viewed the page. Individual entries are all recorded with who performed the entry and at what time the entry was performed. See, for example, item 902 in FIGS. 3 and 4. Another feature that applies to all function is that of protected entries. Only the user who created an entry within the tool 10 is able to edit or delete it, and all historical records are locked unless both parents consent to making the change.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit of the essential attributes thereof; therefore, the illustrated embodiments should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, reference being made to the appended claims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope of the invention. 

What is claimed:
 1. A system for creating an electronic access schedule for parents and children of blended families.
 2. A method for creating an electronic access schedule for parents and children of blended families.
 3. A system for requesting, granting and/or denying a trade or swap of days of responsibility by a parent for a child.
 4. A method for requesting, granting and/or denying a trade or swap of days of responsibility by a parent for a child.
 5. A parent communication system established electronically through a web site wherein each page of the web site is marked with an indication the date and time that each parent has accessed said page.
 6. A parent communication system that enables posting of entries to a parent communication web site, wherein each posted entry can only be edited or deleted by the original creator of the entry. 